Keeping intermediates on the track: towards tailored metabolons for bioelectrocatalysis

Abstract

Evaluation of: Moehlenbrock MJ, Toby TK, Waheed A, Minteer SD: Metabolon catalyzed pyruvate/air biofuel cell. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 132, 6288–6289 (2010).

Enzymatic fuel cells suffer from a severe limitation: they convert only a fraction of the substrate’s chemical energy into electricity. The reason for this limitation lies in the specificity of single enzymes, which are not able to completely oxidize complex organic substrates such as glucose. Enzyme cascade electrodes may help to overcome this limitation; however, they are only a starting point. In their communication, Moehlenbrock et al. have proposed the use of metabolon structures – biomimetically linked multienzyme complexes – as anode catalysts. Depending on their further development, metabolon-based biofuel cells may be able to overcome today’s biofuel cell limitations and close the gaps between the current technologies of enzymatic and microbial fuel cells.

Acknowledgements

Uwe Schröder acknowledges the foundation of the professorship Sustainable Chemistry and Energy Research by the Volkswagen AG and the Verband der Deutschen Biokraftstoffindustrie e.V.

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.